Charging apparatus for blast furnace with high top pressure



D. N. EVANS llune 30, 1964 CHARGING APPARATUS FOR BLAST FURNACE WITH HIGH TOP PRESSURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 5, 1961 INVENTOR.

June 30, 1964 D. N. EVANS 3,139,472

CHARGING APPARATUS FOR BLAST FURNACE WITH HIGH TOP PRESSURE Filed May 5, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 il 9 Il f2? o 'I 32 o i 37 Il n 3g R Q0 .22a i l 3 ZZ INVEN TOR. 22a/f6.1

United States Patent O 3,139,472 CHARGING APPARATUS FOR BLAST FURNACE WITH HIGH T01 PRESSURE Douglas N. Evans, Ogden Dunes, Gary, Ind., assignor to Inland Steel Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 5, 1961, Ser. No. 108,145 3' Claims. (Cl. 266-27) The present invention relates generally to blast furnaces operating under high top pressures, and more particularly to top-charging apparatus for this type of `blast furnace, which charging apparatus prevents closure members at the top of the blast furnace'from being Worn away by the abradent eifect of descending charging material.

Blast furnaces are conventionally provided with an upper charging chamber having top and bottom openings with the top opening constituting anentry for the introduction of charging material into the chamber, and the bottom opening providing an exit for the discharge of the material from the charging chamber into the blast furnace proper. A pair of closure members are also conventionally provided, one for each of the openings. The bottom closure member is kept closed when the top closure member is opened for the introduction of charging material into lthe chamber; and the top closure member is kept closed when the bottom closure member is opened to discharge the material from the chamber intoy the blast furnace. This type of operation prevents the escape of gases and dust from the furnace into the chamber and from there into the atmosphere. Each closure member is mounted for movement between an upper closed position in which it seals its respective opening and a lower open position; and the closure members are provided with a bell-shaped configuration for peripherally deilecting and distributing charging material descending through the adjacent opening.

Blast furnace operations can be markedly improved by increasing the pressure in the top portion of the furnace from atmospheric pressure up to and in excess of 20 p.s.i. However, in blast furnaces operating under such high top pressures, it is essential that there be a close fitting between both the upper and lower closure members and their respective seatings. Otherwise, there will be a substantial amount of gas escaping into the atmosphere due to the high pressures maintained inside the furnace.

When descending charging material strikes a closure member or its seating the material has an undesirable abradent effect thereon, eventually wearing away the closure member and/ or its seating so that the closure member is no longer effective to prevent gas leakage. This problem is eliminated by the charging apparatus of the subject invention. Charging material handled by the subject apparatus is introduced into the blast furnace in the desired peripherally distributed manner, but at no time does the material strike either of the closure members. This avoids wear on the closure members, and maintains an effective seal against gas leakage.

Other features and advantages are inherent in the structure claimed and disclosed, as will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic vertical sectional View of the upper portion of a blast furnace and associated charging apparatus constructed in accordance with the subject invention;

FIGURE 2 is a View similar to FIGURE l showing the s ubject'apparatus in a discharging position; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View showing a portion of another embodiment of charging aprice paratus constructed n accordance with the subject invention.

Referringto FIGURES 1 and 2, there is shown the upper portion of a blast furnace 10 atthe top of which is located one embodiment of a charging chamber indicated generally at 11 and including an embodiment of charging apparatus constructed in accordance with the present Vinvention. Located between furnace 10 and chamber 11 is solid rigid closure or valve means, indicated generally at 12, for sealing the opening 13 between-furnace 10 and chamber 11. Chamber 11 also includes a top opening or entry 15 intermittently covered and uncovered by a top solid rigid closure member 14.

During a charging operation, valve means 12 is initially closed to seal the opening 13, and closure member 14 is initially opened to permit charging material to be introduced through the entry 15 into the chamber 11 (FIG- URE l). After a charge has been introduced into the chamber, closure member 14 is moved to the closed position shown in FIGURE 2 to seal the opening 15, and valve Vmeans 12 is moved to the open position shown in FIGURE 2 to permit discharge of material from chamber 11 into furnace 10. Chamber 11 also includes apparatus, to be subsequently described, for preventing charging material from coming into contact with valve means 12, thereby avoiding wear on the valve means and preventing gas leakage through opening 13. An effective gas seal is maintained at top opening 15 by closure member 14 which, in its open position, is removed from the path of descending charging material passing through opening 15. Consequently, there is no danger of this member being worn away by the abradent effect of the descending charging material.

Describing chamber 11 now in greater detail, it comprises a narrow lower portion 16 integral with a flared connecting portion 17 integral with an outwardly extending portion or shoulder 18 in turn integral with wide upper portion 19. Seated atop upper portion 19 is a removable frusto-conical section 20 terminating at top opening 15.

Inside chamber 1l is a hopper or basket indicated generaly at 9 and mounted for movement between a material receiving position (FIGURE l) and a material discharging position (FIGURE 2). Hopper 9 comprises a narrow lower portion 25 integral with a iiared connecting portion 26 having upper outwardly extending surface portions 27 integral With wide upper portion 23. At the bottom of lower portion 25 is a lower open end 30 (FIGURE 2) and at the top `0f upper portion 23 is an upper open end 29. Lower open end 30 is normally closed by a member 31 suspended from a rod 32 extending upwardly through hopper 9, through top opening 15 of chamber 11, and through top closure member 14.

Extending downwardly from frusto-conical chamber section 20 is a sleeve 33 having a lower open end 35 in communication with the hopper or basket and an upper open end 34 in communication with the top opening 15 in the chamber. Sleeve 33 is in direct contact or integral With the frusto-conical section of chamber 11 around the entire periphery of the chamber.

Valve means 12 comprises a water-cooled gate 21 slidably mounted for movement between a closed position (FIGURE 1) in which the gate 21 rests on seating means 22 and 22a (also water cooled, if desired) and an open position (FIGURE 2) in which the gate is enclosed within a horizontally extending housing 23 in coplanar relation with gate 21 when the latter is in either of its positions. Gate 21 is slidably moved back and forth between its open and closed positions by a rod 24 connected to actuating means (not shown). Valve means 12 also includes upper and lower iiange means 51, 52 respectively, connected by a wall portion 55 and abutting adjacent flange means 53, 54 on chamber 11 and furnace 10 respeetively.

During a charging operation all of the elements are in the positions shown in FIGURE 1. Initially the upper closure member 14 is raised and a chute 36 is placed in communication with top opening 15 of chamber 11. Charging material is then fed through chute 36, top opening 15, and sleeve 33, and into hopper 9 wherein the material is supported from below by closure member 31.

Sleeve 33 prevents charging material from flowing out over the upper open end 29 of hopper 9 into chamber 11 and down on top of valve means 12, thereby avoiding wear on the valve from the abradent effect of material striking the valve. More specically, material will rise in the hopper until it reaches the level of the bottom open end 35 of sleeve 33 after which the material will rise in the sleeve 33 only, eventually stopping the flow of material from the chute 36. The volume of sleeve 33 is less than the Volume of the unfilled portion of the hopper. That is, when the hopper is in the position shown in FIG- URE 1, the volume thereof above the lower end 35 of sleeve 33 is greater than the volume of the sleeve. When the charging material starts to rise in sleeve 33, this is an indication that the desired amount of material has been introduced through opening 15, and the discharge of material through chute 36 is stopped. When hopper 9 is moved to its lower discharging position, the material in sleeve 33 will drop into the hopper, but since the volume of the sleeve is less than the volume of the unfilled portion of the hopper, the addition of this material'to the hopper will not cause an overflow.

After hopper 9 is charged, chute 36 is removed, top closure member 14 is moved to its lower closed position (FIGURE 2), and a valve 37 on a gas inlet conduit 38 is opened to admit blast furnace gas from a gas washer (not shown) into chamber 11 so as to equalize the pressure in chamber 11 with that in the blast furnace 10. Gate 21 on valve means 12 is then moved to its open position inside housing 23 (FIGURE 2) and the hopper is dropped to its lower discharging position shown in FIG- URE 2. This is accomplished by downward movement of rod 32. The hopper moves downward with rod 32 until the outwardly extending hopper surfaces 27 engage and are supported by shoulder portions 18 of chamber 11. When the hopper is supported in this manner continued downward movement of rod 32 opens hopper lower closure member 31, causing a discharge of material from the hopper into the furnace 10. The discharged material is distributed peripherally by the bell-shaped closure member 31 as it strikes and is deflected by this member.

It should be noted that when hopper 9 is in its discharging position (FIGURE 2) the lower open end 30 of the hopper is below the seat 22 of valve means 12. Accordingly, none of the descending material discharged from the hopper can strike any portion of valve means 12, so that there is no wearing away of either the seat or the gate of the valve means. This permits a continued tight lit between the gate 21 and the seat 22 of the valve means, thereby effectively preventing gas leakage from the furnace into the chamber 11.

After all the material has been discharged from hopper 9, rod 32 is raised upwardly, thereby causing closure member 31 to move upwardly until the closure member engages the hopper around the hopper lower open end 30. Thereafter both the hopper closure member and the hopper are raised by continued upward movement of rod 32, which movement continues until the hopper is returned to the material receiving position shown in FIG- URE 1.

Valve gate 21 is then returned from the open position shown in FIGURE 2 to the closed position shown in FIG- URE l, and a gas-exhausting valve 39 is opened topermit the blast furnace gas within chamber 11 to escape d* through a gas outlet conduit 40, after which the chamber is in condition to receive a new charge of material.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, there is shown another embodiment of a closure member for the hopper. In this embodiment the closure member comprises a pair of gate portions 41, 42 each having an outer end hingedly connected at 43, 44 respectively to the narrow lower portion 25 of the hopper. Gates 41, 42 are actuated by a linkage including a pair of link members 4'7, 48 each having one end pivotally connected at 45, 46 to gate portions 41, 42 respectively, and another end 47, 48 pivotally connected at 49, 50 respectively, to the vertically disposed actuating rod 32. Up and down movement of rod 32 moves gate portions 41, 42 between the closed position shown in the solid lines in FIGURE 3 and the open position shown in phantom in the same figure.

There has thus been described a blast furnace operating at high top pressures and including a charging chamber having apparatus for preventing the upper and lower closure members of the charging chamber from being Worn away during the passage of charging material through the upper and lower openings of the chamber. Accordingly, the danger of high pressure leakage through these openings is eliminated.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

l. The combination with a blast furnace operating at high top pressures of:

a chamber having a lower opening, in communication with the top of said blast furnace, and an upper opening;

means for introducing blast furnace charge material through said upper opening;

means, including valve means, for introducing gas into said chamber between said upper and lower chamber openings;

means, including valve means, for exhausting gas from said chamber at a location between the upper and lower chamber openings;

chamber sealing means consisting essentially of a first solid rigid closure means forming a gas seal for the upper chamber opening and a second solid rigid closure means forming a gas seal for the lower chamber opening;

means mounting said first solid closure means for movement between an open position, entirely removed frorn the path of charging material being introduced through said upper opening, and a closed position for sealing the upper opening;

a hopper within said chamber;

said hopper having an upper open end for receiving said blast furnace charge material into the hopper, and a lower open end for discharging said material from the hopper;

a closure member normally closing said lower open end of the hopper;

means mounting said chambers second solid closure means, at said lower opening of the chamber, for movement between a closed position, for sealing the furnace from the chamber, and an open position;

means mounting said hopper for movement between an upper material-receiving position, in which the hoppers lower end and the closure member therefor are above said second solid closure means, and a lower material-discharging position in which the hopper extends through the chambers lower opening and the hoppers lower end and the closure member therefor are below the chambers second solid closure means, when the latter is in its open position;

means mounting the closure member at the lower end of the hopper for movement from its normally closed position to an open position when the hopper is in its lower position;

and means for preventing said charge material from flowing over the open upper end of the hopper and onto the chambers second solid closure means.

2. The combination with a blast furnace operating at high top pressures of:

a chamber having a lower opening, in communication with the top of said blast furnace, and an upper opening;

means for introducing blast furnace charge material through said upper opening;

means, including valve means, for introducing gas into said chamber between said chambers upper and lower openings;

means, including valve means, for exhausting gas from said chamber at a location between the chambers upper and lower openings;

chamber sealing means consisting essentially of a first solid rigid closure means forming a gas seal for the chamber upper opening and a second solid rigid closure means forming a gas seal for the chamber lower opening;

means mounting said first solid closure means for movement between an open position, entirely removed frorn the path of charging material being introduced through said upper opening, and a closed position for sealing the upper opening;

means mounting said second solid closure means, at said lower opening of the chamber, for movement between a closed position, for sealing the furnace from the chamber, and an open position;

vertically movable means within said chamber for holding said charge material, when said second solid closure means is in its closed position, and for discharging said material through the chambers lower opening when the second solid closure means is in its open position;

means for protecting said second solid closure means from contact with the charge material when said second closure means is in its closed position;

and means for protecting the second solid closure means from contact with the charge material when said second closure means is in its open position.

3. A combination as recited in claim l wherein:

said overow preventing means comprises a vertically disposed sleeve having an upper open end in communication with said chamber upper opening and a lower open end terminating above the upper open end of the hopper when the hopper is in its lower position and extending downwardly through the upper open end in the hopper when the hopper is in its upper position;

said sleeve being in contact with the chamber continuously around the periphery of said chamber;

and said sleeve having an internal volume substantially less than the internal volume of that portion of said hopper which is above said lower open end of the sleeve when the hopper is in its upper position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 329,044 Hurd Oct. 27, 1885 1,829,300 Rutter Oct. 27, 1931 2,408,945 Mohr et al. Oct. '8, 1946 2,619,344 Mursch Nov. 25, 1952 2,721,073 Gionet Oct. 18, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 806,752 Great Britain Dec. 31, 1958 

1. THE COMBINATION WITH A BLAST FURNACE OPERATING AT HIGH TOP PRESSURES OF: A CHAMBER HAVING A LOWER OPENING, IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE TOP OF SAID BLAST FURNACE, AND AN UPPER OPENING; MEANS FOR INTRODUCING BLAST FURNACE CHARGE MATERIAL THROUGH SAID UPPER OPENING; MEANS, INCLUDING VALVE MEANS, FOR INTRODUCING GAS INTO SAID CHAMBER BETWEEN SAID UPPER AND LOWER CHAMBER OPENINGS; MEANS, INCLUDING VALVE MEANS, FOR EXHAUSTING GAS FROM SAID CHAMBER AT A LOCATION BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER CHAMBER OPENINGS; CHAMBER SEALING MEANS CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF A FIRST SOLID RIGID CLOSURE MEANS FORMING A GAS SEAL FOR THE UPPER CHAMBER OPENING AND A SECOND SOLID RIGID CLOSURE MEANS FORMING A GAS SEAL FOR THE LOWER CHAMBER OPENING; MEANS MOUNTING SAID FIRST SOLID CLOSURE MEANS FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN AN OPEN POSITION, ENTIRELY REMOVED FROM THE PATH OF CHARGING MATERIAL BEING INTRODUCED THROUGH SAID UPPER OPENING, AND A CLOSED POSITION FOR SEALING THE UPPER OPENING; A HOPPER WITHIN SAID CHAMBER; SAID HOPPER HAVING AN UPPER OPEN END FOR RECEIVING SAID BLAST FURNACE CHARGE MATERIAL INTO THE HOPPER, AND A LOWER OPEN END FOR DISCHARGING SAID MATERIAL FROM THE HOPPER; A CLOSURE MEMBER NORMALLY CLOSING SAID LOWER OPEN END OF THE HOPPER; MEANS MOUNTING SAID CHAMBER''S SECOND SOLID CLOSURE MEANS, AT SAID LOWER OPENING OF THE CHAMBER, FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN A CLOSED POSITION, FOR SEALING THE FURNACE FROM THE CHAMBER, AND AN OPEN POSITION; MEANS MOUNTING SAID HOPPER FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN AN UPPER MATERIAL-RECEIVING POSITION, IN WHICH THE HOPPER''S LOWER END AND THE CLOSURE MEMBER THEREFOR ARE ABOVE SAID SECOND SOLID CLOSURE MEANS, AND A LOWER MATERIAL-DISCHARGING POSITION IN WHICH THE HOPPER EXTENDS THROUGH THE CHAMBER''S LOWER OPENING AND THE HOPPER''S LOWER END AND THE CLOSURE MEMBER THEREFOR ARE BELOW THE CHAMBER''S SECOND SOLID CLOSURE MEANS, WHEN THE LATTER IS IN ITS OPEN POSITION; MEANS MOUNTING THE CLOSURE MEMBER AT THE LOWER END OF THE HOPPER FOR MOVEMENT FROM ITS NORMALLY CLOSED POSITION TO AN OPEN POSITION WHEN THE HOPPER IS IN ITS LOWER POSITION; AND MEANS FOR PREVENTING SAID CHARGE MATERIAL FROM FLOWING OVER THE OPEN UPPER END OF THE HOPPER AND ONTO THE CHAMBER''S SECOND CLOSURE MEANS. 